invasion

noun

in·​va·​sion in-ˈvā-zhən 

1

: an act of invading

especially : incursion of an army for conquest or plunder

2

: the incoming or spread of something usually hurtful

Synonyms

• incursion
• raid

Examples of invasion in a Sentence

The enemy launched an invasion.

The people live under a constant threat of invasion.

The town is gearing up for the annual tourist invasion.

protecting the house from insect invasion

Recent Examples on the Web

After a home invasion that put his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen) and kids Sammy (Paisley Cadorath) and Brady (Gage Monroe) in peril, Hutch snaps back to his old ways as an off-the-books government assassin and goes scorched earth on the bad guys. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Zelensky has also warned that territory conceded to Russia would simply be used as a springboard for further invasions, as happened with Crimea, illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and used as a launchpad for the full-scale war in 2022. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025

The Japanese tech company has operated in Russia since 2006, but after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine began scaling back operations, halting console shipments and closing online and brick-and-mortar stores. —Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Even some of Trump’s toughest former advisers admit it — a solo U.S. invasion or drone attack without Mexico’s green light would be a dumb idea. —Miami Herald, 13 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English invasioun "assault, attack," borrowed from Anglo-French invasion, envasioun, borrowed from Late Latin invāsiōn-, invāsiō "attack, taking possession by violence," from Latin invādere "to enter with hostile intent, assault, attack" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at invade

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing invasion

• counter-invasion
• invasion of (someone's) privacy
• pre-invasion

Rhymes for invasion

• abrasion
• caucasian
• equation
• eurasian
• evasion
• occasion
• persuasion
• asian
• suasion
• athanasian

Kids Definition

invasion

noun

in·​va·​sion in-ˈvā-zhən 

: an act of invading

especially : entrance of an army into a country for conquest

Medical Definition

invasion

noun

in·​va·​sion in-ˈvā-zhən 

: the act of invading: as

a

: the penetration of the body of a host by a microorganism

b

: the spread and multiplication of a pathogenic microorganism or of malignant cells in the body of a host

Legal Definition

invasion

noun

in·​va·​sion in-ˈvā-zhən 

: the act of or an instance of invading